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Posted on 01/21/2006 12:03:36 AM PST by freepatriot32
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A group of religious leaders from nine denominations have accused two evangelical churches of improperly promoting an Ohio candidate for governor and want the Internal Revenue Service to investigate.
The 31 leaders from central Ohio met on Jan. 15 and signed a letter asking the IRS to determine if the churches should lose tax-exempt status because of their support for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, one of three Republicans seeking the nomination.
The Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church in Columbus and the Rev. Russell Johnson of Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster improperly used their churches and affiliated entities for partisan politics, the complaint to the IRS says.
"If they don't want to be a tax-exempt organization, they can go and do and say whatever they want," Rabbi Harold Berman of Temple Tifereth Israel in Columbus said on Jan. 16. "But if you do want to take advantage of the tax benefits that are granted to churches and synagogues, then I think you need to follow the rules."
The two churches defended their actions, saying their efforts were not politically motivated.
A statement from World Harvest Church on Jan. 16 called the ministers bringing the complaint "left-leaning" and said they had "what appears to be a political agenda."
"Had they come to us directly, as people of faith are instructed to do in Scripture, they could have saved themselves a lot of time and embarrassment," the World Harvest statement read.
The Christian and Jewish clergy who brought the complaint said they were acting individually and not on behalf of their congregations.
Meanwhile on Jan. 17, Blackwell said the clergy who had complained to the IRS were trying to unfairly pressure the churches.
"You tell those 31 bullies that you aren't about to be whupped," Blackwell told a Jan. 17 luncheon attended by 450 religious leaders. The secretary of state said that "political and social and cultural forces are trying to run God out of the public square."
Blackwell was the only candidate for governor invited to address the event sponsored by the Ohio Restoration Project, led by Johnson.
Johnson accused the complaining pastors of starting a "secular jihad against expressions of faith."
"We are not going away. We will not be intimidated," he said.
The complaint alleges that Blackwell was the only gubernatorial candidate showcased in church-sponsored events conducted by Parsley and Johnson.
Blackwell said that was not true because Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, declined an invitation to speak.
The complaint also alleges that the evangelists' voter-registration campaign was done to support Blackwell. The churches "have designated programs to ensure that their voter registration drives target only conservative Christians likely to support a Republican agenda," the complaint said.
"You have a number of churches and charities involved with a number of road trips for Mr. Blackwell, all of which seem to be aimed at gaining him visibility for his political campaign," former IRS supervisor Marcus Owens told The Columbus Dispatch.
Owens, a former director of the IRS tax-exempt division, helped the clergy draft the complaint.
Berman criticized Parsley for having Blackwell speak at a Statehouse rally in November.
"It's one thing to talk about values. It's another thing to stand there with a particular gubernatorial candidate and say, 'This is the person you should vote for because I as your pastor say that you should.'
"Now, people are going to say, 'Well, they didn't say that in so many words,' but I think they came very close, and I think somebody's going to have to determine whether they crossed that line."
Mark Youngkin, a spokesman for Parsley, disputed the voter-registration allegations in an e-mail to the Dispatch, saying the efforts were conducted "without regard to political affiliation."
Johnson told the newspaper that his church and its affiliate, the Ohio Restoration Project, do not support candidates.
"It's sad to see the religious left and the secular left forge an unholy alliance against people of faith," Johnson said. "We have invited people to pray, to serve and to engage, and candidly, we will not be intimidated or bullied by these folks."
Blackwell faces Attorney General Jim Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery in the Republican primary. His campaign spokesman Gene Pierce declined comment.
The clergy who signed the complaint are affiliated with the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); the Episcopal Church; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Judaism; the United Church of Christ; the United Methodist Church; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
There is something very wrong about this. I might cause a stink about liberal politicians using churches to further their political agendas, but I don't think I'd ever bring it to the attention of the IRS. There's something very non-Christian about that.
Because liberals only care about one thing-furthering their agenda.
I don't blame Blackwell here. He was invited to speak, and did so.
Thinking of that when I came across your post. Then add the "Rev" Jackson/Sharpton. These 31 are too transparent - notice we didn't get their names, only affliation.
No political agenda? Give me a break. Where were these churches when Clinton and Kerry were allowed into pulpits. They are all wolves in sheeps' clothing.
United Church of Christ? Rev Barry Lynn ACLU definately has a political agenda.
exactly
BTW, I'm secular, this is just my objective view of this.
It isn't necessarily political to support pro-life lawmakers. That is what this is about.
The House "has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about," said Clinton, D-New York.
Unfortunately, not one of Hillary's black attendees nor Hillary herself had any idea at all what the hell she was talking about, because they weren't familiar with plantation life. Some blacks came here via slavery, others were pioneers in the new world. How they got here should matter not one whit to either group, only that they are here, not in "darkest Africa".
The sheer arrogance and selective memory of those who bask in freedom and bounty unlike anything they could possibly imagine had their ancestors not had the distinct privilege of arriving in the new world through whatever means, continues to amaze me. Humility and gratitude represent the feelings of those who can appreciate what God has given those privileged to live in the greatest nation presently on earth.
" No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. "
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, and Christians should go to God for solutions, not man.
These churches just don't get it. If you support an africanhyphenamerican endorsed by Jerky Jacka$$ and let them pander to your congregation at your church and help fix the roof, you fit the IRS definition of non-partisan. The churches in question appear to have made the mistake of supporting a Republican candidate which is a mortal sin punishable by the demofascist's favorite gestapo organization, the IRS. Its ok to have the IRS in your business, but heaven forbid the NSA listen to terrorist's speak on the phone to their "American" friends.
I know of one church that has incorporated and dropped their tax exempt status and at least one other one planning to incorporate. I've heard that two of the biggest advantages for doing this would be: 1)the tax exempt argument would be null and void and the church could politic as much as it likes if it chooses to, and 2)if the church were ever sued (someone falling in the parking lot or got injured playing Upward basketball, etc) and the amount of the judgment was over and above the amount of insurance carried, the individual church members would no longer be liable.
As we have seen, religious influence on politics is not an issue to the left, as long it's some filthy degenerate citing some "turn the other cheek" drivel to promote pacifism, or abolition of the death penalty, or redistribution of wealth. Not to mention the occultist New-Age druidism used to promote baseless environmental dogma. But if someone on the right references anything religious, even as a minor point in an argument, they tell us we are a step away from a Judeo-Christian version of Sharia law.
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Brilliant. Bears repeating.
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